Cooking Up a Hooley In the Kitchen: Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
By Katie Gagne
~~ A Dessert Dad Will Love ~~
My brother-in-law, Matt swears these are the best cupcakes he has ever had and so this lucky guy gets them for birthdays, anniversaries, and all sorts of special occasions. With Father’s Day just around the corner, what better thing to get that wonderfully, important man than something made with love. These cupcakes are worth the effort and smell and taste heavenly.
Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
Makes 12-14 standard-size cupcakes or one two-layer 9” round cake.
Ingredients: Cupcake Batter
2 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
3 large, ripe Bananas — mashed
½ cup Unsalted Butter – room temperature
½ cup White Granulated Sugar
½ cup Light or Dark Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs – room temperature
¼ cup Sour Cream or Vanilla Yogurt
2 teaspoons Vanilla
½ cup Buttermilk
1 ½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.
Peel three bananas and place in a medium bowl and mashed with a potato masher or heavy spoon. Set aside.
Cream butter in a mixing bowl with a hand or stand mixer. Add sugars and mix until creamy.
Add in eggs, yogurt, and vanilla and mix for 2 minutes.
Beat in the mashed bananas.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add in the buttermilk and blend until combined.
Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
Fill the prepared cupcake tin ¾ full with batter for each.
Bake at 350* for approximately 12-15 minutes.
Cool completely
Ingredients: Frosting
3 sticks Unsalted Butter – room temperature
1 8oz block Cream Cheese
8 cups Confectioners or Powdered Sugar
1 4oz Baking Bar – Semi-sweet Chocolate — melted and cooled slightly
¾ cup Dark Cocoa Powder
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
In mixing bowl with a stand or hand mixer – cream the butter for approximately 1-2 minutes, add in the cream cheese and mix until creamy
Add in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate and mix until creamy
In small batches add in the confectioners’ sugar until combined. This will take a few minutes.
Add in the salt, vanilla and heavy cream and mix until smooth.
Add in the cocoa powder and beat for 2 minutes.
Add additional heavy cream to get the desired medium consistency.
Using a pastry bag and tip or a large storage/freezer baggie, pipe the frosting onto a cooled cupcake.
Ingredients Chocolate Ganache
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
In a saucepan, over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until it just begins to simmer. Pour cream over the chocolate which should be in a heat-proof bowl. The cream should just cover the top of the chocolate. Allow it to sit for 2 minutes and with a spoon, stir until completely smooth and blended. This takes a minute or two. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes.
Drizzle the ganache over each cupcake sprinkle with chocolate chips and top with a banana chip (optional)
Garnish : Mini Chocolate Chips and Banana Chip
*Katie Gagne teaches English at Trinity High School in Garfield Heights. She is also the owner of her in-home bakeries Sassy’s Sweets and Oh So Much More. You can contact her at (440) 773-4459 or at [email protected].
